This video is a bit long, but a great demonstration of how to cover up acne while drawing attention to your best features and the areas where your skin is clear. This one is from a British makeup artist, so for those of you who need a translation – “spots” = pimples.

Do you love playing around with makeup, trying out different looks, or doing makeovers on your friends? Are you passionate about the idea of doing what you love as a career? If you are interested in learning how to become a makeup artist from the comfort of your own home, then this review is for you!

If you have been a reader of my blog for a while, then you might have read my previous post about the University of Makeup. I wrote that review after my first experience with theirBasic Makeup Course which, as the name suggests, has a series of basic makeup video tutorials that take you through all the steps you need for applying your own makeup. However, they also have two other courses. One is for people that want to learn how to apply bridal makeup. It includes a series of video tutorials that demonstrate how to achieve different types of bridal looks, such as romantic, modern, or Asian. The other is an extensive series of video tutorials that covers absolutely everything.

Learn how to become a professional makeup artist online

The University of Makeup’s third, and largest, program is called the Full Makeup Course. This is the series that teaches you everything you need to know to become a professional makeup artist, all through online video tutorials. At the end, you have to fulfill specific requirements before receiving an official makeup artist certificate.

What the Full Makeup Course Includes:

Access to all the videos from the Basic and Bridal Makeup Courses, along with many more.

The complete course consists of 67 video tutorials (they just added another 19 videos before I published this review)!

Additional lessons cover everything from photo shoot makeup and corrective makeup to how to give a makeup lesson and how to apply makeup to different types of face features and skin.

Tons of other freebies, including MAC face charts, a slew of e-books, and makeup artistry templates

Personal support from a professional makeup artist

A professional makeup artist certificate, after completing all the videos and requirements

Important note: While it is not required to get a certificate, if you want to receive the professional certification you will need to reproduce a number of looks and send those pictures to the University of Makeup. You also need to complete an online exam.

Before I tell you about my own experience with the videos, here’s a look at their promotional video. You might not want to watch the full video, but there’s some great before and after images of what you will learn (plus some fun music).

My own experience:

Since there are so many videos in the course, I didn’t go through the complete course yet and get the certificate. However, I did watch a large number of the videos and was extremely impressed with the quality and professionalism. These are not the types of videos you see on YouTube where someone just sets up a camera and puts some makeup on themselves or someone else. This is a professional makeup artist walking you through every step of the way. You learn about which makeup to use, the correct brushes, and all different techniques. You get to see the artist totally transform herself.

Some of the best tips I got out of the course had to do with working with my own imperfections. I now know that I need to put eyeliner just on my lower lid to make my eyes look bigger. I also concentrate my darker eyeshadow just on the outer part of my upper eyelid to accentuate my eyes when wearing my eyeglasses. I’m extremely nearsighted, so my eyes can look really tiny otherwise.

Loads of free ebooks on all types of beauty topics, delivered to your email regularly

Cons:

Expensive if you just want the videos and are not interested in becoming a professional, but far cheaper than going to a makeup school

As with any video tutorial, it’s not quite the same as having a live instructor who watches you apply the makeup

I’m sure I’ve missed something, but there are so many features in the course that I couldn’t list them all.

If you really want to learn how to become a makeup artist, online is one of the easiest and most convenient ways to do it. I highly recommend that you go check out the Full Makeup Course at University of Makeup for something truly exceptional and professional. Actually, I love it just because I can go watch a video any time I want on any makeup technique or look that I want to play around with that day.

Sharyn

P.S. Don’t forget that you can also get the basic makeup video tutorials in theBasic Makeup Course.

Professional makeup artists know how to use makeup to contour your face and create the illusion of perfection, even without any airbrush or photoshop tricks. For the rest of us, contouring is often seen as only existing successfully on the stage or at a professional photo shoot. This is certainly not the case! When done correctly, contouring is a simple and easy way to make your face look slimmer and your features more defined and radiant.

We’ve got three tricks that will help you learn how to use your makeup to contour your facethat you can master quickly. You will need to have some good makeup brushes on hand to use these methods effectively. If you don’t already own some, check out the Sephora deluxe antibacterial brush set. They are excellent quality and a good value. You can also buy individual ones to fill in any gaps in your brush kit. My favorite are from Bobbi Brown. I’ve had them for years and they are still in excellent condition.

Now, grab your brushes and start sculpting!

1. How to Slim Your Face

A slimmer face is a goal that to some may only seem possible through weight loss, but with a little bit of contouring makeup, you can have a slimmer looking face in less than five minutes. You will need a non-shimmery, matte bronzer three shades darker than your skin tone and a small fluffy face or bronzer brush. If you are having difficulties finding a bronzer without shimmer, simply use a face powder a few shades darker than you would usually wear. Dip your brush lightly in the bronzer and create the “E” “3” shape on your face. To do this, start at your temple and curve the brush around and under your cheekbone, then back around and under your jaw. This creates a letter “E” on your left side and a number “3” on your right side. Then, use a clean brush or makeup sponge to blend any harsh lines.

2. How to Sculpt Your Nose

A simple trick to making your nose seem slimmer and straighter involves the same bronzer or dark face powder you used to contour your face and an eyeshadow brush. Dip your eyeshadow brush lightly in the bronzer and run it vertically down from the bridge of the nose to the tip on each side of your nose, leaving the center of your nose clean. To create a more defined tip of the nose, create a tiny “V” under the tip of the nose using the bronzer and eyeshadow brush. Use a clean fluffy brush to blend all harsh lines.

3. The Best Way to Use Highlighting

The last step to creating a perfectly defined and contoured face is to highlight your key features. You can use a liquid, cream, or powder highlighter in the color and shade of your choice. For this step, a shimmery product is preferred. If you are using a powder highlighter, clean your small fluffy brush from the face contouring step and use it to brush the highlighter on the tops of your cheekbones, down the center of your nose, in the middle of your forehead, and on your cupid’s bow. If you choose a liquid or cream highlighting product, repeat the same steps using your fingers and blend out lightly. For a long-lasting effect, layer your products by first using a cream or liquid highlighter, then going over it with a corresponding powder highlighter.

All done! Now, all you have to do is practice. It may take you a few times and a little experimenting to find the right colors, but you’ll be amazed at the difference a few contouring tricks can make.

Want to learn more about how to apply makeup like a professional? Check out the video tutorials from the University of Makeup. They will also recommend the right professional style brushes and makeup to use. I even learned how to apply makeup when I’m wearing my glasses so that my eyes look bigger!

One of the most daunting tasks when buying or applying makeup is figuring out which colors will work best for you. The intimidating rows of dozens of shades of the same color eyeshadow or lipstick lead many women to get into a rut with makeup colors, or simply give up altogether. Here are three fool-proof tips that will help you choose the right makeup colors for your unique features.

1. Skin Undertone

During your search for the perfect foundation, you’ll probably discover whether you are a cool, warm, or neutral undertone. If you haven’t, use this fail-proof trick: Look at the veins in your wrists. If they are green, you are a warm undertone, if they are blue, you are a cool undertone. Women with warm skin usually look better in gold jewelry while women with cool skin look better in silver, and women with neutral undertones look good in both. After finding your correct undertone, you can work from there to discover which makeup colors will work best for you. Warm-skinned girls look good in gold, orange, mocha, bronze, and warm brown tones. Cool-skinned ladies look best in blue, silver, gray, purple, and cool brown tones. If you have a neutral skin tone, you’re in luck because you can wear any color you want!

2. Hair Color

Your hair color, in conjunction with your skin’s undertone, also has an effect on whether certain colors of makeup will look good on you or not. If you have warm hair – such as chestnut or golden blonde – and a warm skin tone, stick with bronze-y, summery colors. With cool hair – like platinum blonde or ash brown – and a cool skin tone, use silvery, wintry colors. As a general rule for redheads, if you have warm red hair, stick with those shades recommended for warm hair colors, and vice versa. All redheads should steer clear of overly red or orange makeup colors and should use greens and blues in the correct undertone to enhance their features.

3. Eye color

Last, but certainly not least, your eye color has a huge effect on the makeup colors you should choose. Girls with blue eyes look best in peach, gold, copper, and brown, while green eyes pop when paired with purples, pink, and plum. Those women with brown eyes are incredibly lucky, because you can wear whatever colors you want! However, the best colors to accentuate beautiful brown eyes are purple, teal, and green.

Want to learn how to apply your makeup like a professional? I absolutely love the video tutorials from the University of Makeup. Even better, they now give you a professional makeup kit when you sign up, it’s a one-time price for lifetime membership, AND they have a store that sells everything and ships worldwide for free! They even have all the MAC makeup! Check it out:

If you want to learn how to apply makeup, there’s no substitute for visual examples and step-by-step instructions. I’ve learned most of my own makeup techniques from years of experimenting with different makeup, time spent getting makeovers at department stores, and reading about different methods in beauty magazines. However, I recently was introduced to a program by theUniversity of Makeup which provides video tutorials for every type of makeup technique you can think of.

The tutorials from the University of Makeup help you learn how to apply makeup like professionals, whether you want a natural day look, fashionable celebrity look, or the look of a dramatic photo shoot. I’ve been trying out several of the tutorials so far and have been extremely impressed with the quality of the video and clear explanations of technique. Here is the promo video they did to give an overview:

In the most basic course, My Makeup Course, you get lifetime access to 37 step-by-step video tutorials that take you through absolutely everything. You will learn how to take care of your skin and prepare it for makeup. You then learn things like how to select the right color foundation, which makeup brushes you need, how to use concealer, apply eyeshadows and blushes. You name it. The Full Makeup Course, which consists of 67 videos, will teach you how to become a professional makeup artist. You even receive a professional makeup artist certificate at the end! All of the videos can be watched on your computer or downloaded.

Here are just a few of the tips I’ve learned so far:

Use green concealer to cover red pimples and veins BEFORE applying foundation

If you wear glasses and are near-sighted (like me), use darker eyeshadow colors and focus on the crease and outer corners

To make small eyes look bigger – apply highlighter eyeshadow on the lids, a soft color in the crease and upwards, and only use eyeliner on the lower lid

One thing I love about the course is that you don’t have to buy a specific brand of makeup. Many video tutorials I’ve seen in the past are meant for a certain brand and are often produced by that makeup company. While these tutorials do show you what makeup they are using, you can apply the techniques with anything you have in your cosmetics drawer. However, the majority of makeup and brushes they use in the videos is by MAC, along with a few other brands. I love MAC makeup, so I’ve even been considering splurging a little over the holidays on a couple of the items in the video. After all, who couldn’t use another eyeshadow or lipstick?

When I first looked at the long list of makeup tutorials, I realized that it would take me hours to look at all of them. I assumed that this would involve some kind of monthly membership that would be way too expensive. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the price was just a flat fee for lifetime membership. The price for My Makeup Course is only $99, which is a lot cheaper than a lifetime of makeup tips from beauty magazines! However, the Full Makeup Course has quite a few more video tutorials and is probably worth the extra money if you really love to play around with makeup. In that course, you get all the tutorials about working with different types of faces and features (such as narrow foreheads, wide eyes, and different noses).

So, what are the downsides of this course? Well, the only real one is the lack of a list of makeup used in each tutorial. The company told me that they are currently working on putting together a list of makeup for each video, so that should be solved in the near future. In the meantime, I just look carefully at the types of makeup used. Then I pick a few from my drawer to experiment with. You can also pick up a few basics from the local cosmetics store and return anything you don’t like. To help you, I’ve put together a list of a some basic makeup products and tools you can use to get started.

Note: Since I first wrote this review, the University of Makeup has opened up their extensive online makeup store to all members at a 10% discount over the general public. They even offer FREE worldwide shipping! I don’t know any makeup store that does that!!!

– Sharyn

P.S. For all you MAC makeup lovers out there, the University of Makeup store sells loads of MAC cosmetics – all with free international shipping!